I'm not asking anyone to donate money but if you can, great - even if it's only a small amount. I have been a Unitarian and supported the work of the UUSC (UU Service Committee) for most of my adult life and they have done a lot of good work. Trust me. Even if you are unable to help financially, please sign the petition to raise the ceiling for the number of refugees we will admit into the country. As fellow human beings, we need to help these people. Thanks.

https://secure2.convio.net/uusc/site/Adv...;autologin=true

chas

Hey Chas..
I will be back home on Sunday and I will donate whatever I can.

I will say one thing.
We as human beings fail horribly at this.
This is a shame for all man kind, for all religions and for all non religious people..For all kind of skin color. We let this happen.. Basically we are becoming fashists and we support our Nazi governments to create chaos in these poor countries. By doing nothing we are not much better than ISIS.We are that other terrorist. .
I was a refugee. I was only 14.

You got it, Chas. I am mentor to a Mexican family, which means covering college for three kids, paying for legal assistance...anything I am able to do.

I took the politics out of the picture and looked at the need.

a nice check will go to these folks today.


Russ

Is there a PayPal or anything else ?
I can't open this page from my phone..
I can send some money directly to you Chas and you can do the rest.

Click on the 'UUSC' symbol at the top of the page and a 'DONATE' page will come up. Make sure you specify that it's for the Syrian refugees as there is also fund raising for the earthquake in Nepal going on. You guys are fantastic but somehow that doesn't surprise me at all.

chas

I probably shouldn't say this but sometimes I look at my two grandkids (9 and 12) with their Ipods, smartphones, laptops, tennis lessons, swim and gymnastics lessons, trail bikes, ridiculous allowances, etc., and it really, really bothers me....not so much because they have these things, but because they TAKE THEM FOR GRANTED. I just feel like they have no empathy whatsoever for the people, and especially the children, that we're talking about right now. Their father (my son) just thinks he's being a good provider but I really do worry about how they and all their privileged peers will turn out. Sometimes I think these Mormon-type missions might not be such a bad idea. If I weren't so anti-religion......oh well, that's another story.

In any case, thanks again to all you good people who care.

chas

No problem, Donny. However, maybe you should do a little research on the US Herald.....OR, just picture Glenn Beck on steroids. But hey, I'm sure that all those LEGITIMATE news sources and those horrific pictures of the conditions in those refugee camps are just "liberal media propaganda". BTW, in the future, if you don't want to be involved in something, just move on, no need to post about it and certainly no need try to discourage others who DO care and want to help. I'm glad others didn't feel that way when your daughter needed help after the storm that devastated parts of the Jersey shore. But hey....

chas

DNJ, it's a good thing you will never have to through something like this and you will never understand it..You can't even try to understand it when you are holding a baby and you don't even know who's is it and they are holding you at gun point because you don't have any legal papers.. I am surprised they don't create more havoc. But, let's make sure to put in headline " Muslim refugees ", because in western world that makes them less human.

Chas, I know where you're coming from. In certain ways, it's good to enjoy the results of your efforts, but, sometimes, I look at the cars, cameras, music equipment, etc. and just shake my head.

Several years ago, I sold a little over a hundred guitars and donated the proceeds. I'm back up to over 300 pieces; many of which have never and will never be played.

Same thing with one of Chas' least favorite things...guns. The collection is over 150 pieces..to be fair, mostly high end English upland game shotguns and similar collectibles...no Saturday night specials, assault rifles or such. I haven't shot one since I sold my farm in 2000. I'm trading third generation purchases, still unused in boxes for others that will never be used.

I feel wasteful and a little ashamed. I'm going to sell all the guns and most of the collectible guitars (I'll keep about 20...believe it or not, that's the minimum I think I need to cover all the bases). I don't need 6 motorcycles, 5 cars and three trucks. Those are personal vehicles; there are more owned by my company. The King Air, gyro and Cessna went year before last, with the proceeds going to a new hospital wing and equipment in my home town.

I'm going to downsize and donate the proceeds. That means cars, motorcycles, trucks...jewelry...whatever I can do without.

Needs are great around the world. In Kentucky, nearly 40% of the school children are from families living below the poverty line. Things are much worse in other areas of the world.

Good wake-up call, Chas.


Russ

Nothing like living in the bubble.
All an ostrich needs is sand to feel safe. Who cares about anyone else.

Totally agree chas !!!!!

The refugees have been haunted by war conditions and risked their lives, so it is a duty to help them. On the other hand it's very difficult that nearly all of them have decided to go to Germany as their final destination and a few countries are left alone with incredible numbers of refugees. Numbers of several hundreds of thousands in a few months cannot be handled.
Munich main train station has been the main/first stop of the endless stream of refugees for the past weeks. This weekend about 10,000 or more new refugees are arriving there. As all capacities have been fully utilized before already, I just heard 9,000 people have to sleep on the floor of the railway station with sleeping bags now. It's pure chaos. I must say given the infinite stream, the lacking willingness of many other European countries to take tens of thousands too and the refugees' resolution that it must be Germany (which simply cannot be accepted for a million of refugees or even more), a system has to be implemented to channel and control the stream. Ultimately, this would mean abandoning the Schengen agreement of open borders, which would be a huge step back. The only solution is that other European countries show the same willingness as Germany currently does, AND to convince the refugees that they should be HAPPY to live in France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Danmark and the UK as well and it cannot work if they ALL head for Germany. Germany will definitely welcome 100,000s more refugees, and I think this is a very good, humane thing. On the other hand, if Britain announces to take 10,000 refugees in the next two years, while this is the number arriving on one weekend in Germany, it's a very bad joke. The current chaos at German railway stations is a good thing in terms of helping refugees, it just cannot go on for months and years - which it would if nothing is organized differently in the EU. It could develop into a big crash for The EU.

Rosetree, hats down to Germany on this.
Everyone else,, well, I don't really want to use those kind of words on this forum. And already there are people here who would let them rot. Like I said , I was a refugee over 20 years ago and seeing how some people see all this makes me only sorry for their lack of humanity.
But, on the other side there is lots of people who would do a lot to help and I am thankful and grateful for that.

Only thing that I have in common with this that I was a refugee and I know how it feels. And I wouldn't wish that to anyone in the world. Not even the idiots who enjoy all this ..I am not a religious person..I despise all religions equally.

My apologies to Chas because he started this thread and I thank him for that. There is a hope for humanity.

I agree with Mirza in applauding Germany for stepping up to the plate big time, but I also agree with Rosetree that the other EU countries need to do the same. If the current situation continues, the good intentions of German citizens could easily turn to frustration or even resentment. The rest of the world really needs to pitch in and help out, and that includes the UK and America.

chas

The situation is tragic, but the warmness and concern here is comforting.

Thanks to all concerned members.


Russ

[video:youtube]http://cnn.it/1Qblja5[/video]

For my friend Donny.

Well, I blame the US for this mess. Always sticking its nose where it doesn't belong. But, hey, war is good for business, right?


The refugees are not the problem but the effect of the problem. If a country has plenty of money to wage war it should also have plenty of money to take care of those that are unfortunate enough to be caught between two major camps.

But when do we ever hear anything positive about muslims? I still have to meet the first muslim that hates my guts. Met plenty of the "good" guys that do, though, just me for speaking out. Guess will meet plenty here as well. Not that I will lose any sleep over it.

Wow, Taike. ..Nice one..heheh
When I tell my friends that , "In God We Trust", is not any different than "Allahu akbar" , people usually don't get it.

Chas, thanks for the UUSC refugee donation alert. I believe this is the direct link to the Donation Page . Wish I could give more, as my heart goes out for these innocent people. May they find peace and happiness

Sadly they are not all genuine refugees and people are thinking with their hearts and not with their heads ISIS know this for they had a plan so how many have infiltrated these countries only time will tell so watch this space.

They have to be registered and screened, it's inevitable. So the German government has reinstalled temporary border controls. It just doesn't work that refugees walk across the border in masses without any channeling. Some German politicians, e.g. in the Green party, are very naive in heavily criticizing the government for reintroducing border controls. It's not closing borders, but controlling people coming in.

And everybody should be registered. And of course someone will use this situation to gain theirs. Both, ISIS terrorists and Western terrorists.

The thing is , unfortunately as The Bible says:"Whoever sows injustice will reap calamity and the rod of his fury will fail.

proverbs 22:8

I do hope that I am wrong and there is such a thing as humanity.

The medium-sized Bavarian town of Rosenheim has registered 2,300 refugees just today, the army is presently installing tents there, as gymnasiums and other buildings are already at their capacity limit. Yesterday, 9,000 persons without papers passed the border to Bavaria on foot. In the past days, refugees have also activated the emergency brakes of some trains in Germany and jumped off in order to get to different regions within Germany than planned. There's also a conflict among German states as Bavaria and NRW are the two states welcoming thousands and thousands of refugees, whereas the other 14 states are taking fewer. Lots of problems to be organized. I don't know how Munich will cope with its Oktoberfest, just as a side note. It cannot simply be cancelled, a giant industry behind it, tents and attractions installed for months already etc. It's already being discussed to use some tents for refugees afterwards, but those tents are not apt for freezing winter temperatures.

Mankind's only hope is not any government, religion or church, but God's Kingdom. Let your Kingdom come, let your will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven, Amen...

Illusions don't solve problems but are often the cause of the problem.

I agree to most of the video. But its optimistic tone can only come true if the European countries contribute to the immigration equally in reference to their population. If the UK continues their stance to take a few thousand refugees in 5 years, it won't come true.
Germany has not revoked its plan to take 800,000 refugees in the next 12 months by controlling the border. But Germany is not going to take a million refugees per year on a regular basis, you can be sure about that. Social tensions would explode. These first 800,000 refugees in a rather short time are going to cause huge problems for one country, the video is too optimistic about their integration into the labour market. They need to learn German up to a reasonable level first. How do you organize German courses for 800,000 refugees in short term? It is already certain that the unemployment rate will increase dramatically. Additionally, there are by far not enough apartments for these people. They can't go on living in tents or gymnasiums for months and years. BTW, experts say in the apartment market rents will shoot up - mostly on the expense of the low earning population.
No, it can only be handled if we are talking about five-digit refugee numbers for EVERY mid to larger European country. But that's obviously still far from reality.

Rosetree, all good points. Still taken aback by the reluctance of the wealthy oil states to accept any refugees. Is it because they think it's cheaper to import labor or fear instability? The latter is certainly a big concern for most European nations but my hat off to those that are willing to take them. Why is the pressure on Europe and not on the oil states? The oil states should at least provide material and long-term financial aid.

Taike

Yes, of course it's a shame that these rich oil states are doing so little to help in this crisis. I'm not very well informed about strategies and motives of these countries.
The pressure on Europe is definitely enhanced simply by the refugees' movement towards Central Europe. I don't know whether a part of them would head for the oil states instead if they were more welcoming.